


Scars

by PhoenixPhaedrana



Series: Requests [3]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Canon, Fluff, request, so enjoy it while it lasts, this is like the only fluffy story I own
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 13:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20892620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixPhaedrana/pseuds/PhoenixPhaedrana
Summary: Cobalt gets lost in the woods and gets to meet one of his heroes!This isn't canon





	Scars

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request by my lovely BFC (Best Friend Cousin) Natalie!

Ebony moved ahead on the trail. Will Treaty kept half an eye on her as he continued to survey his surroundings. The dog was not yet fully trained. That was the point of this outing, after all. For once, Redmont Fief was peaceful, at least for the moment. So, Will had taken the time to continue his dog’s training. 

“Ebony, heel.” After a moment, the dog circled back and trotted next to him. Well, for a few minutes, before she was off again on some other scent.

“Ebony, come girl.” But this time the dog didn’t stop, instead barking and, after a second’s hesitation, darting off into the woods. Will muttered under his breath. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. Then, underneath him, his small, barrel-chested horse Tug made a soft rumble and twitched his ears, head fixed in the direction that Ebony had disappeared. 

“Alright.” said Will, patting his faithful companion on the neck. Ranger horses were trained to always warn their riders if there was a potential threat. Will now got ready, raising his bow and laying an arrow on the string. 

“Who’s there? Show yourself.” Ebony broke through the underbrush, followed by a second dog. It was small, maybe a little more than half Ebony’s own size. It had long, flowing golden fur and ear flaps rather than the erect, pointed ears typical of most small dogs Will had seen. Will, however, didn’t relax. There was still something there, his instincts told him.

“Ebony. Heel.” Ebony obeyed, after a quick last sniff at the new dog she came to heel. Will surveyed the forest. After several minutes of silence, he replaced the arrow back into the quiver and signaled Tug forward. He didn’t put the bow down, but made it appear as if his position was relaxed. Suddenly, there was a loud ** _crash!_ ** In the forest. The smaller dog ran off, moving at top speed. Ebony barked and followed him. Will decided to see what all of this was about.

“Still.” he commanded Tug. Tug bobbed his head, but gave Will a worried look as he dismounted. “I’ll be fine, boy.” he reassured his horse. “I can handle myself you know.” The horse snorted, as if to say ‘Don’t make it so that I have to come and rescue you at the last minute. Again.’ Will patted his faithful companion. 

“Like I said, I’ll be alright.” Then, he silently faded into the forest like he had never been. Tug shook his head ‘Don’t go too far. When this goes south, I want to be able to find you’

Will chuckled slightly at his horse’s worry. _ ‘When this goes south’ _ he thought. _ Well, best not let it. _ He moved like a ghost through the undergrowth, making no sound. The dogs, on the other hand, made a good deal of it in their excitement, and left a trail a blind man could follow. Or, perhaps not, as Will would soon find out. 

Will cautiously crouched as he stepped over the brim of a river bank, careful not to silhouette himself. He allowed a slight intake of breath at what he saw at the bottom. There was a skeleton at the bottom of the depression in the water. _ And it was moving. _

~~~~***~~~~

Cobalt picked himself up. He was wet. Floof had run off and he hadn’t been able to tell that there was a steep bank here until it was too late. He felt Floof nuzzle him, licking his face, whimpering slightly. 

“It otay.” he told Floof, patting his dog. Then, a second muzzle pushed into his ribcage, knocking him over in the shallow water. Two paws were placed on his shoulder and his face was being quite vigorously licked. He giggled. “Who you be?” He asked, feeling over the animal’s body and face. It wasn’t Jinx, his cat. It was too big. The dog licked his face again. 

“Hehe! Get up now?” The dog understood and moved away, allowing him to rise once more. 

“Ebony!” A voice called out. Cobalt jumped at how sudden it was. He heard not-Floof move away, her paws splashing in the water. Cobalt turned in the direction of the voice. He felt Floof up against his leg. 

“Wh-who you be?” He asked, a little fear tinging his voice.

“I am Will Treaty, king’s ranger of Redmont Fief.” The voice carried an unmistakable athourity.

“Nnn, I no understan… What ‘ranger?’” he tilted his head, thinking. He was reminded of something. Something he had heard… or perhaps something he had read in one of his braille things Olive had given him to teach him to read. 

~~~~***~~~~

Will stared at the being in front of him, not exactly sure what to say. He had never before had to explain what a ranger was to someone. Before he had a chance to marshall his thoughts into a suitably authoritative and mysterious answer, he was cut off by the being.

“Wait… You mean like, ranger ranger? Like Halt, Will, Crowley, Gilan rangers?”

“Yes, those are all rangers…” Will was even more confused now. The skeleton seemed _ extremely _excited about this for some reason. 

“And you Will treaty? You say Ebony, that dog!” 

Will blinked “...yes, she’s a dog.”

“Sorry, I no see like you, only feel.”

This didn’t really clarify things. “Y-you’re blind?” His voice betrayed his confusion at the whole situation.

“Yes. My name is Cobalt! I like you! You good, do good thing, like help…” He trailed off for a moment, searching for the word. “Lots of people!” he eventually settled for. 

Will had a dazed expression now, not that it mattered. “U-uh, thanks?”

Cobalt decided that they were friends now and hugged him. 

Will was…Well, ‘surprised’ would be an understatement.

  
  


~~~~***~~~~

Cobalt rubbed his face in the soft wool of the cloak. It was exactly as he had thought it would feel. He remembered the long hours of sitting quietly and listening to the adventures of Will, Halt, Horace, and the rest while Olive took care of her patients. He remembered something Olive had said about being polite. 

“I touch?” he asked, gazing up at what he assumed was the ranger’s face.

“You seem to have done that already…” Said Will, still shell-shocked.

Cobalt considered this permission. “Thankie!

He reached up to touch Will’s face, which he could reach without the ranger bending down for once.

~~~~***~~~~

By the time Will collected himself enough to figure out what Cobalt was doing, it was too late. He felt the skeletal hands, which were surprisingly warm, gently running over his features. After a few minutes of feeling, Cobalt removed his hands.

“I wet.” The skeleton observed.

“You are.” Said Will. “I suppose you’d like to come back to the cabin with me to get dried off?” 

“Yes!” Cobalt did a little wiggle and then jump. Will couldn’t help smiling. The skeleton reminded him of Trobar, the gentle giant who Malcom the healer sheltered at his home in the dark, foreboding Grimsdall wood. 

“Come this way.” He led him back to Tug. The little horse raised his head when he sensed his master approaching. ‘Found a new friend, have you?’

“As a matter of fact yes. Do you mind if he rides too?” Tug bobbed his head in acknowledgement of the password. Meanwhile, Cobalt had wandered up to the horse, Floof at his heels. He felt over the horse’s muzzle and body, eyesockets slowly growing wider as he felt the size of the animal.

“What it? Be very big.” Cobalt glanced in the direction of Will.

“It’s a horse. His name is Tug.”

“Hehe, I like!” Cobalt smiled and hugged the horse’s neck. Tug looked down at him. ‘Good choice.’ 

Will chuckled. “Seems like you found a new friend too.” the horse shrugged, insofar as a horse _ can _shrug.

“So, we ride Tug? You already say password, yes?” 

Will wondered how the skeleton knew so much about rangers. He briefly considered saying something along the lines of ‘that’s for me to know and you to ponder’, but he just sighed and said, “Yes.”

He lifted Cobalt up behind the saddle, then he mounted up himself. 

“Let’s go home, Tug.”

  
  


~~~~***~~~~

Once they had arrived at the cabin, Will helped Cobalt dry off. When he pulled off the sweatshirt and undershirt to dry, he saw that the skeletal body underneath was laced with more scars than he could count. Every one of them was at least several years old, but not a single one looked like an accident. Every one had a uniformity that reminded him sickeningly of the cut that had been on Shadow, Ebony’s mother, when he found her. Many of them looked near-fatal. He decided not to comment on them, instead quietly laying the clothes near the warm fire to dry.

He made Cobalt (and himself, of course) a mug of coffee as they waited for the clothes to dry. After a few minutes WIll ascertained that Cobalt was from a place called ‘Elemental Town’ and that his mother was a person called Olive. As they sat and talked, Tug sounded a warning. Will quickly got up and crept to the door. Before he could get within two meters of it, the door swung open to reveal another strange being. She had green hair, and her ears were strangely pointed. 

“Who are-”

“Where’s Cobalt?” She cut him off, her voice sharp and dangerous. 

“Mom!” Cobalt ran and embraced the elf before Will could do anything to stop him.

“What happened, Cobalt?” Her voice was soft and sensitive. 

“Unn, I was in a forest, then I fell in a stream, and then I met Will! And Tug! And Ebony! No Halt though…” He seemed vaguely disappointed by that fact.

“I see.” Said Olive

“Uhh, you would by Olive then?” Asked Will, feeling that feeling of confusion coming back

“Yes, and you’re Will Treaty?”

“...yes. Ranger of Redmont Fief. And can I ask… what?” He pointed at the skeleton next to her

“Cobalt? He’s a skeleton.”

“I know _ that. _ I still have so many questions…”

“Oh I better message Akil.” She pulled out a small, glowing box.

“You have a magic box?” Will had stopped trying to hide his confusion. He did have one other question, but thought that it wouldn’t be diplomatic to ask in front of Cobalt. The elf seemed to realize she had her hair up and, a little belatedly, pulled the bun out to allow her hair to cascade down her shoulders.

“It’s my phone…” Seeing Will’s intention, she pulled a pair of earplugs out of her pocket and placed them on Cobalt. “What?”

“It’s just…” Will gestured at the scars on the skeleton’s body. “Those weren’t an accident.”

Olive shook her head. “He was raised in a lab.”

“Lab?”

“A building for torturing people.”

Will looked at the skeleton again. He could believe it. 

“Well… Maybe you should get him home. His clothes are dry now.”

Olive nodded, picked up his jacket and shirt and helped him dress. Then, she waved her hand and a glowing circle appeared in the air. On the other side wasn’t the rest of his cabin. He walked around the thing to check, but there wasn’t a backside. It simply wasn’t there from the back.

Olive and Cobalt stepped through the portal, followed quickly by Floof. Olive thankful that her Cobalt was safe once more, and Cobalt wondering whether he would be allowed to keep a horse as a pet.

**Author's Note:**

> I have nothing to add, it's just fluffy.


End file.
